Laura was born in South Korea and raised in Canada; trained as a Math and Science teacher and eventually landed in ministry where she is currently the Interim Team Leader at New Joy Church in Surrey, British Columbia. She's married to Ray and together they have three extraordinary children. Finding the extraordinary in the ordinary is one of Laura's missions in life, whether in her family, through her hobbies of photography and sewing quilts and other crafts, or in ministry and other meaningful relationships.
Her journey with Jesus began as a child encountering Jesus at a family retreat, under the influence of a prayer warrior grandma who literally prayed without ceasing every day. She was blessed to have incredible young adults disciple her as a teen and to have missionary mentors as a university student, which eventually led to her beginning her studies at Regent College with a focus in world missions. During this time, she traveled across the globe (e.g. China, North Korea, the Philippines, and Uganda to name a few countries), seeking to extend the heart and hands of Jesus with the world. But God had other plans and He led her to New Joy where she experienced much needed breakthrough and inner healing, eventually joining the staff in 2013 in a position she never imagined, experiencing the mission field on home soil. Throughout this time, there were many highs and lows, and yet God was always faithful and His love and care were never absent, and Laura found there was so much extraordinary to be found in the ordinary.
Her current mission field looks like working part-time at New Joy, working as a part-time Social Media Editor for a local and online fabric store, homeschooling her children, volunteering with a local addiction recovery centre, and raising a puppy, which funny enough in this time of the pandemic has opened more relationship opportunities in the neighbourhood than any others she has experienced.
Laura considers herself and New Joy incredibly blessed to have joined the Vineyard Canada tribe in late 2020 and loves connecting (in her own introverted ways) with people across the nation. She looks forward to deepening those connections and would love to hear from you, especially as New Joy explores a more team-based model of leadership and enters a season of being intentionally missional while following Jesus together!